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Creative Leadership Handbook to be Revised

by Kelly Carolyn Gordon, Vice President for Professional Development

In 2001, the Association of Theatre in Higher Education produced Creative Leadership: A Handbook for Theatre Department Chairs, edited by Jon Whitmore and Kristina Yows. The handbook has been a useful resource for ATHE members, including participants in the Leadership Institute, for eleven years, offering articles on such topics as evaluating faculty, working with deans, and managing a box office.

This year, the Professional Development Committee has assembled a Task Force to revise elements of the handbook that have become out-of-date. Task Force members include Travis Malone (Head), Randy Colborn, Marjorie Gaines, Kelly Carolyn Gordon, Gail Humphries-Mardirosian, and Barbara Parisi. Leadership Institute Co-Directors, Mark Heckler and Barbara O. Korner, have agreed to co-edit and to write an introduction, tying the handbook to the Leadership Institute “lead from where you are” motto, which will open the audience beyond chairs and deans.

ATHE members can look forward to the updated handbook’s covering of subjects like global citizenry, production assessment, and theatre as preparation for excellence in leadership. The committee will also look to make the handbook available online and to publish hard copies on demand, which would allow for the handbook to be updated more easily and regularly in the future.